Theater chair



G. C. JONES THEATER CHAIR Sept. 12, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 24, 1948 in W F,

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6m ver Cleveland Jones INVEN TOR.

1 BY a Attorney;

Sept. 12, 1950 Q G. c. JONES" THEATER CHAIR 3 ShetS-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, .1948

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INVEN TOR.

1 4 BY and 3% 5 e m .J d n M m l a r m r 6 w a w 6 9 Patented Sept. 12, 1950 THEATER CHAIR Grover Cleveland Jones, Bronx, N. Y., assignor of one-half to Morris B. Geris, Bronx, N. Y.

Application March 24, 1948, Serial No. 16,735

Claims.

This invention relates to a theatre chair and has for its primary object to facilitate the entrance and exit of persons through the aisles between the chairs.

VAnother object is to enable the occupant of the chair to move into the space between the arms thereof to permit the passage of a person along the row in front of the chair.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features a pair of side frames, a guide channel carried by each side frame, rollers mounted to move in the guide channels and a seat carried by the rollers and extending between the guide channels.

Other features include a back cushion carried by certain of the rollers and extending between the guide channels, said back cushion being pivotally coupled to the seat cushion whereby both cushions will move in unison longitudinally of the channels and means yieldingly to hold the back cushion in lowered position and the seat cushion in forward position between the channels.

Still other features include a hand lever pivotally supported on one of the side frames, means coupled to the hand lever and to the back cushion for moving the back cushion against the effort of the yielding means, and releasable means to lock the hand lever in elevated position to hold the seat retracted and the back cushion elevated Figure 9 is a perspective view of the supporting panels for the seat and back cushions,

Figure 10 is a fragmentary rear view of the back cushionsupporting panel, and

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line I l--i I of Figure 7.

Referring to the drawings in detail this improved theatre chair designated generally iii comprises a base if to opposite side edges of which are attached side frames It and IS. A back panel l8 extends between the rear edges of the side frames M and It, and fixed to adjacent faces of the frames M and it are guides designated generally 25. Each of these guides comprises a chanml which is bent intermediate its ends to form a horizontally extending leg 22 and an upwardly and rearwardly inclined leg 24. In the preferred form of the invention the leg 22 is hingedly coupied to the lower forward end of the leg 24 as at 26, to permit the leg 22 to fold upwardly as sug-.- gested by the dotted lines in Figure i. The guide channels it are attached to their respective side frames Mend it so that the flanges of the channels project toward one another, and the bottom flange of the forward leg of each channel is bent upwardly as at 28 to form a stop for the rollers to be more fully hereinafter described. As shown the seat cushion supporting panelto permit it to I swing upwardly toward the back cushion when the back cushion is lowered'and the seat cushion i projected.

In the drawings: y Figure 1 isa top plan view of a theatre chair embodying the features of this invention,

Figure 2 is a side view of the chair illustrated in Figure 1,

1 Figure 3 is a'front view of the chair illustrated in Figure 1, certain portions being broken away more clearly to illustrate certain details of construction, v

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional View taken substantially along the line l-lof Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional View taken substantially along the line 55 of Figure 2,

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional View taken substantially along the line B-6 of Figure 1, Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along the line 1-1 of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional View taken substantially along the line 8--8 of Figure 4, I

the bottom legs 22 of the guide channels 20 are supported in spaced horizontal relation to the base or bed [2 of the chair, in order to hold the chair seat in proper spaced relation from the floor.

Mounted for longitudinal movement on the leg 24 of each guide channel 28 are rollers 3d which are rotatably mounted at opposite ends of transversely extending shafts 32 to which a back panel 34 is welded or otherwise rigidly secured. This back panel supports the back cushion 36 of the chain and the rollers riding in the legs 2 of the guide channels 29 permit the back panel to move longitudinally of the leg 2 1 as suggested by the dotted lines in Figures 4 and '7. Hingedly coupled as at 36 to the lower end of the back panel 34 is a link 38 which curves downwardl and forwardly and has pivotally connected to its lower end as at 4!] a link 42. These links 233 and as are each provided with a transversely extending shaft i l upon opposite ends of which guide rollers 46 are mounted for reception in the curved portions of the guide channels 28 at the lower ends of the legs 24 when the seat is projected and the back is in lowered position. Hingedly coupled as at 4 3 to the lower forward end of the lint: i2 is a seat panel 50 which like the back panel 34 has fixed thereto in spaced parallel relation on its underside a pair of axle shafts 52 adjacent opposite ends of which are mounted for rotation guide rollers 54 which are adapted to be received in the horizontal legs '22 of the guide channels 20 when the seat is projected forwardly and the back is in its lowered position. In this position the chair is ready for occupancy. Suitable cushions 56 are fitted on the links 38 and 42, and a seat cushion 58 is attached to the seat panel 58 to cooperate with the back cushion 36 in forming a comfortable seat for the occupant.

As illustrated a chamber 60 is formed in the back of the chair immediately behind the back panel 34 and the rear panel l8, and fixed to the back panel 34 adjacent its lower edge and'projecting into the chamber 68 is a horizontally extending bracket '82 carrying intermediate its ends a depending eye 64 to which the upper end of a retractile coil spring 68 is coupled. An eye 68 is coupled to the base or bed l2 directly below the eye 64, and the lower end of the coil spring 66 is anchored in the eye 68 so as yieldingly to hold the back panel and back cushion downwardly, and the seat cushion and seat panel projected as illustrated in the drawings. It will thus be seen that the back and seat panels wil1 be yieldingly held in a position for comfortable seating of the occupant.

The side frame I l of the chair It) is provided in its top with an elongated longitudinal slot 70, and pivot-ally supported as at 12 within the side frame [4 is a hand lever M, the free end of which projects through the slot and is equipped with a push button 16 which is connected at its inner end to one end of a conventional Bowden wire 18, the opposite end of which is connected to a laterally extending latch dog '80 which operates through a slot 82 formed in one side of the hand lever i l, so that as the button 16 is pressed inwardly, the latch dog 80 will be moved toward the pivot 12 of the hand lever M. A compression coil spring 8 1 is contained within the hand lever M between its pivot point and the underside of the latch dog, yieldingly to urge the latch dog outwardly with relation to the axis of the pivot 12. Fixed to the frame l4 adjacent the side of the hand lever M through which the latch dog 8! projects is a quadrant 86 which is equipped adjacent one end with a notch 88 for the reception of the latch dog Bil when the lever is in its elevated position. It will thus be seen that when the lever moves upwardly to its fullest extent, the latch dog 8;) will engage in the notch 88 in the quadrant '86, and hold the lever elevated until such time as pressure is exerted on the push button it which operating through the Bowden wire 13 will release the latch dog from engagement in the notch 88 and permit the lever to return to its lowered position. A flexible cable 90 is coupled at one end to the lever 16 intermediate its ends, and thi cable is trained over a guide pulley 92 arranged in the side frame It in front of the lever Hi. Leading backwardly from the guide roller 92, the cable is trained over a guide roller 94 mounted in the side frame [4 adjacent the rear end thereof, so that the cable 90 will be directed into the chamber 60. Passing upwardly over a pair of spaced guide rollers 96 which are attached to the back panel I 8 near its upper end, the end of the cable 90 remote from that which is connected to the hand lever M is extended through an opening in the bracket 62 near the spring 66, and is held in place by a conventional cable clamp 98, so that as the hand lever 14 is swung about the pivot 72 toward the back of the 4 chair It, pull will be exerted on the cable 90 to cause the bracket 62 to be lifted against the effort of the spring 66, and thus move the back panel 34, intermediate panels t8 and 42, and the seat panel 50 longitudinally of the guide channels 20, so as to retract the seat and make room for the user to stand between the side frames l4 and I6. Obviously the frames 14 and I6 and the rear panel 18 may be covered in an suitable upholstering material to match or contrast with that used on the cushions 36, 56 and 58.

In use when a person desires to pass between a row of chairs, the occupants of the chairs may manipulate the hand levers M by moving them upwardly about the axes of the pivots 12, thus exerting pull on the cables 90 and moving the seat cushions 58 rearwardly so that they may stand between the side panels [4 and 16 of their respective chairs 10.

Upon reaching its fullest extent of movement, the lever will move the dog 86 into alinement with the notch 88 so that the dog will engage in the notch and hold the seat retracted, thus relieving the occupant of the chair of any strain while persons are passing in front of him. As soon as the aisle has cleared, pressure may be exerted on the push button 16, thu to move the dog out of the notch 88 and thus permit the lever to swing about its pivot '12 and allow the seat and back cushions to move under the influence of the spring 66 and assume their previous positions. The seat cushion and front panel may be lifted as suggested by the dotted lines in Figure 4, thus swinging the arms 22 of the guide channels 40 about the pivots 26 so as to give access to the space beneath the seat cushion from the top thereof.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a theatre chair a pair of spaced parallel side frames, a guide channel carried by each side frame, each guide channel having a horizontal seat supporting leg and an upwardly and rearwardly extending back supporting leg, rollers movable longitudinally in the guide channels, a seat cushion carried .by certain of the rollers and extending between the horizontal legs 0f the guide channels and a back cushion carried by other rollers and extending between the upwardly and rearwardly inclined legs of the guide channels and the seat cushion and back cushion being pivotally coupled to one another for movement in unison longitudinally of the channels, a spring coupled to the back cushion yieldingly to hold it in its lowermost position, a hand lever mounted in one of the side frames for movement in a 'vertical arc and means coupling the hand lever with the back cushion for moving said back cushion upwardly against the effort of the spring.

2. In a theatre chair a pair of spaced parallelside frames, a guide channel carried by each side frame, each guide channel having a horizontal seat supporting leg and an upwardly and rearwardly extending back supporting leg, rollers movable'longitudinally in the guide channels, a seat cushion carried by certain of the rollers and extending between the horizontal legs of the guide channels and a back cushion carried by other rollers and extending between the upwardly and rearwardly inclined legs of the guide channels and the seat cushion and back cushion being pivotally coupled to one another for movement in unison longitudinally of the channels, a spring coupled to the back cushion yieldingly to hold it in its lowermost position, a hand lever'mounted in one of the side frames for movement in a vertical arc and a flexible member coupled at one end to the back cushion and at its opposite end to the hand lever to cause the cushion to move against the effort of the spring when the hand lever is moved toward the back of the side frame.

3. In a theatre chair, in combination, a pair of spaced parallel side frames, a guide channel carried by each of said side frames, each of said guide channels comprising a substantially straight horizontal portion, a substantially straight upwardly and rearwardly extending inclined portion, and a curved portion tangentially joined to both of said straight portions, a seat board, a back board, at least one intermediate board hingedly connected to said seat and back boards, first rollers secured to said seat board and movably disposed in said horizontal channel portions, second rollers secured to said back board and movably disposed in said inclined channel portions, and third rollers secured to said intermediate board and movably disposed in said curved channel portions, the spacing between the outermost ones of said rollers in the direction of said channelsbeing less than the effective length of each of said channels, thereby permitting movement of all of said boards in unison and in the direction of the respective channel portions.

4. In a theatre chair, in combination, a pair of spaced parallel side frames, a guide channel carried by each of said side frames, each of said said guide channels comprising a substantially straight horizontal portion, a substantially straight upwardly and rearwardly extending inclined portion, and a curved portion tangentially joined to both of said straight portions, abutment means at each end of each guide channel, an upholstered seat board, an upholstered back board, a plurality of upholstered intermediate boards hingedly connected to one another and to said seat and back boards, two spaced pairs offirst rollers secured to said seat board and movably disposed in said horizontal channel portions, two spaced pairs of second rollers secured to said back board and movably disposed in said inclined channel portions, and a plurality of pairs of third'rollers each secured to a respective one of said intermediate boards and movably disposed in said curved channel portions, the distance between the foremost of said pairs of first rollers and the uppermost of said pairs of second rollers, measured along said guide channels,

being less than the length of each of said channels between the said abutment means thereof, thereby permitting limited movement of all of said boards in unison and in the direction of the respective channel portions.

5. In a theatre chair a pair of spaced parallel side frames, a guide channel carried by each side frame, each guide channel having a, horizontal seat supporting leg and an upwardly and rearwardly extending back supporting leg, rollers movable longitudinally in the guide channels, a seat cushion carried by certain of the rollers and extending between the horizontal legs of the guide channels and a back cushion carried by other rollers and extending between the upwardly and rearwardly inclined legs of the guide channel, the seat cushion and back cushion being pivotally coupled to one another for movement in unison longitudinally of the channels, and means for selectively moving said back cushion into an upward or downward position.

GROVER CLEVELAND JONES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,180,637 E manuel Apr. 25, 1916 1,640,984 De Petris Aug. 30, 1927 2,078,961 Meltzer May 4, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 789 Great Britain 1914 

